Tamale Pie

It’s starting. Every once in a while, there’s a brief sense that fall is peeking around the corner. The way the morning sun hits the trees, or a crisp smell of evening air. It’s not overwhelming, but there’s not doubt that before we know it, it’s going to be time for jeans, hoodies, football, apple cider and pies. I’m not one to wish time away, but after so many days close to triple digits this summer, I’m more than ready for some cooler weather. Which is why, a few weeks ago, when my Chief Culinary Consultant and I were flipping through one his mom’s old cookbooks and saw a recipe for tamale pie, I was more than excited to make it. Astonishingly enough, I have never had, much less heard of, tamale pie before we happened upon that page. I’m living in a serious shell. What could I possibly not love about a chili-like filling baked with a layer of cornbread on top?! It’s quite possibly the most genius dish ever invented. Cornbread is the perfect accompaniment to chili, which makes this recipe all the more perfect. Summer be damned, bring on the chili!

I first attempted the recipe that we found in the cookbook, but the top cornbread layer ended up a complete disaster. We were able to salvage the filling and used it to make impromptu tacos. It was good, but I wasn’t in love with it. I immediately began working on round two, because the concept of the recipe was so spectacular, I knew there was a better way. In the end, I never came across a recipe that sounded like the one, so I started building my own based on my favorite flavors, ingredients and, most importantly, what was ripe in the garden! The result is one absolutely phenomenal dinner. You just can’t beat all of the bright and bold flavors in the beef filling, topped off with a thick layer of cornbread. Genius and delicious.

Two quick notes on the recipe:

I included black olives in the recipe for two reasons: (1) they were in almost every single tamale pie recipe that I came across; and (2) my mom and Chief Culinary Consultant love them. However, I personally don’t like olives (that’s putting it mildly) and think this dish would be just fine without them, so I included them as an optional ingredient. If you love ’em, add them! If you’re a fellow olive hater, you can totally leave them out.

I used Monterey Jack cheese, but cheddar would also be great in this recipe, or a combination of the two. Feel free to substitute and experiment with your favorite or what you have on hand.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Making the Filling: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil until hot. Add the onion, green pepper and jalapeños, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the ground beef to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Once the meat is browned, add the onion mixture back to the pan. Stir in the corn, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin and salt. Stir well to ensure that the spices and the tomato paste are evenly distributed. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand while preparing the cornbread topping.

4. Make the Cornbread Topping: Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients over the cornmeal mixture and stir together until barely incorporated.

5. Assemble & Bake the Pie: Stir the olives and shredded cheese into the beef mixture and pour it into a 9x13-inch baking dish, smoothing the top. Pour the cornbread batter over the filling, using a spatula to spread it into an even layer. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the pie to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

I have been making tamale pie since I found the recipe in a 1978 Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. I make it several times during the fall and winter. I love it, and it’s even better the second day. I serve it with a green salad and of course, some nacho chips. I’m going to give this one a try, too. Thanks

This tamale pie looks to die for! Our readers over at Mr. Food would flip over this for sure. We’d love for you to submit a similar recipe to The Search for the Ultimate Weeknight Meal, offering a grand-prize to one lucky blogger who will tape a segment to air on national TV! If you’re interested, check out our contest page for more details. http://www.mrfood.com/Editors-Picks/Search-for-Ultimate-Weeknight-Meal-Blogger-Contest

I use a similar recipe (from Elise at Simply Recipes) and as a fellow olive hater (and raisin hater, her recipe calls for raisins), I substitute a can of drained pintos for both. Oh, and I use the “fire roasted” diced tomatoes, too. I can’t wait for it to get cooler here (Dallas) so we can start with the warm comfort foods like Tamale Pie!

Here in Peru we call this “pastel de choclo” or corn cake. We make it with meat filling, but also with local cheese. There is also a sweet version, which I really don’t like, but is very popular, it has raising and is made with “chancaca” or molasses.

This looks awesome — I have eaten this dish (minus the jalepeños and cumin) since childhood. My mom and grandmother always made it, and they call it Miser’s Meal. My husband is CRAZY about that dish, and being the jalepeño lover he is, I know he’ll flip for this version!

Oh my goodness Michelle, this looks absolutely divine (and I am also more than a little tired of this heat and ready for fall!). I too tried a recipe from a cookbook for tamale pie that didn’t live up to my expectations, so I can’t wait to try yours! Yum!

I loved it. I made a few adjustments. I did not have any jalapenos, so I added a small can of diced green chilies. I thought that the jalapenos would have been too hot for the kids to eat. Great recipe.

Call me crazy, but I made this dish for one reason only – I had an open jar of tomato paste that I had to use quickly (that, and the combination of ingredients sounded promising). And for once, I almost didn’t tinker with the recipe… the key word being “almost”. One thing I’d like to tell anyone attempting to tackle this recipe is: don’t be afraid of the spices! At first I was taken aback: two TABLESPOONS of chili powder? But the truth is, ground meat takes to spiciness well, and the topping is very mild, so don’t hesitate and bring on the chili! I did, however, cut the amount of salt down to 1/2 of a teaspoon. All in all, it was a great dish – hearty, filling, full of flavours, not too salty, and with a perfect spicy kick. Thanks for posting this!

LOVE, LOVE. Simply delicious. All of my favourite ingredients put together nicely. The polenta topping is a great substitute to any rice or other starch. Will be made again and again now. Many thanks for the post.

I love your version of Tamale Pie. Yours is so much lighter than the Tamale Pie I grew up with – and your is very flavorful. I grew up on tamale pie made from masa and lard (ugh-heavy, heavy). I will try this as soon as I can turn on my oven. (115 degrees here on the AZ desert) Can’t wait to try this.

This recipe looks great! quick question, i have a package of Martha White mexican corn bread in the cupboard, you think if i prepared that according to package and put that on top of the filling instead that would work out ok?
thanks

Thanks for having a “real” recipe as far as the corn bread part goes as I looked for other recipes and was so disappointed to see them giving boxed mixes for the corn bread instead of a recipe. Most boxed mixes have a recipe already on the box. What is the point. what a relief to see your recipe. I’m making it tonight.

This is the BEST recipe and now on the cold days my boyfriend only wants me to make this! Everything is great and I had added 1 can of kidney beans which made it that much better. Also to make it easier on myself I used 1 cornbread mix from a box!

This was delicious! I was having the same experience — so many tamale pie recipes and none of them looked just right. Until I found yours! I only had a pound of ground beef, so I added a can of pinto beans. Worked out great. The toddler loved the filling (funny little dude doesn’t much go for bread) and the grown-ups loved the whole thing. Thank you!

I made this and it is the best cornbread topping recipe i have tried for tamale pie. It is the most like the one in ‘The Joy of Cooking’ which I used to make 20 years ago. Many of the recipes on the web result in a dry or heavy crust, but this one is light and fluffy inside, and crunchy on the outside – delicious!

Is this mildly spicy or very spicy? I’d love to try it but I don’t want to end up with something too spicy that some family members won’t be able to eat. I would cut out some of the peppers if it’s a very spicy dish but if it’s mild, then it should be fine

Ok. Since I made the Guinness Beef Stew last week and was amazed, thought I’d try this next. This was very yummy and flavorful. A little bit of heat but nothing overwhelming. I did use 2 large jalapenos. I’m a sucker for cornbread and this was so good on top. Nice and thick. I used Bob’s Red Mill brand cornmeal which I liked the texture of. I thought the ground meat filling would be dry since there wasn’t much liquid but was surprised when it wasn’t. I did leave out the olives since hubby is an olive hater. I served this with roasted butternut squash with browned butter and freshly grated nutmeg. Fall, yummy goodness with 5 star taste at 2 star price.

I found this on Pinterest a couple weeks ago and finally made it last night. I accidentally read 4 TBSP cumin instead of 4 tsp cumin, so it was a bit heavy on the cumin … as you can imagine … yet still yummy!!! The only other tweak was poblano pepper instead of green bell pepper and half the cheese. I did put olives. My, really delish! Lovely flavour combination. Thanks for a great recipe.

Do you know if you can use Masa Harina instead of Corn Meal? I know that Masa is for tortillas and CM is for corn bread, but I think I’m going to give it a try. I’ll come back and let you know how it goes. Thanks for the recipe.

This Tamale Pie Recipe is wonderful with or with out the Olives. I have made this recipe several times both ways and it is always accepted. Thanks to this recipe. When I am told this taste great I refer the person to this site ( http://www.browneyedbaker.com/tamale-pie-recipe) Lots of great recipes waiting to be tried.

Tried this casserole and would rate it fabulous. I had picky eaters over for dinner and there was barely enough left for my husband’s lunch for work. Of course, being me, I can’t leave anything alone without my touch. I added toasted ground cumin and ground ancho chili powder to the cornbread mix. I also put a little cheese on top of the meat and then on top of the cornbread. I baked it in a 400 dg oven, which at first I thought was a big mistake because it got a little brown and crispy. That made it all the better for taste and texture. In the future when I make tacos, I am going to double or triple the meat and freeze packs of it so I can thaw them and make this quick casserole. I also used really good authentic stone ground cornmeal, which always makes a difference. Good job on this recipe. KUDOS TO YOU!